Fed unveils bold steps to aid economy

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

The Federal Reserve unleashed a series of bold and open-ended steps Thursday designed to stimulate the economy by boosting the stock market and making it cheaper for people to borrow and spend.

The Fed said it will spend $40 billion a month to buy mortgage bonds for as long as it deems necessary to make home buying more affordable. It plans to keep short-term interest rates at record lows through mid-2015 — six months longer than previously planned. And it’s ready to try other stimulative measures if hiring doesn’t pick up.

“The idea is to quicken the recovery,” Chairman Ben Bernanke said at a news conference. But Bernanke made clear that he thinks the economy will need the Fed’s help even after the recovery strengthens.

Stock prices rose steadily after the Fed’s announcement at 12:30 p.m. Eastern time. The Dow Jones industrial average closed up more than 200 points. Other stock averages also surged.

The Fed’s policy committee announced the aggressive actions after a two-day meeting. Its moves pointed to how sluggish the U.S. and global economies remain more than three years after the Great Recession ended.

Thursday’s announcement marked the Fed’s latest dramatic intervention since the financial crisis erupted in 2008 and the Great Recession shot unemployment into double digits. The Fed cut its benchmark short-term rate to near zero and has kept it there for nearly four years. And it’s bought more than $2 trillion in Treasurys and mortgage bonds to try to drive down long-term rates.

Yet for all that, the U.S. economy is still struggling. The unemployment rate is 8.1 percent. And the Fed estimated Thursday that the rate will fall no lower than 7.6 percent in 2013.

The Fed’s latest actions come a week after the European Central Bank announced its most ambitious plan yet to ease Europe’s financial crisis by buying unlimited amounts of government bonds to help countries manage their debts.

With less than eight weeks left until Election Day, the economy remains the top issue on most voters’ minds. Many Republicans have been critical of the Fed’s continued efforts to drive interest rates lower, saying they fear it could ignite inflation.

Asked at his news conference whether the Fed considered the impact of its actions on the presidential election, Bernanke said: “We make our decisions based entirely on the state of the economy. ... We just don’t take those factors into account.”

The Fed on Thursday also lowered its outlook for economic growth this year, though it’s more optimistic about the next two years. It expects growth to be no stronger than 2 percent this year. That’s down from its forecast of 2.4 percent in June.

It thinks the unemployment rate will be no lower than 6.7 percent in 2014. It also expects inflation to remain at or below 2 percent for three more years.

At his news conference, Bernanke made clear that higher stock prices are among the Fed’s goals in buying bonds. Bernanke noted that stock gains increase Americans’ wealth and typically lead individuals and businesses to spend and invest more.